WATCHING NURSE SHARKS? BE PATIENT!
This side-view shows the shark’s relatively small mouth (for a shark anyway). The two strange items hanging down from the upper lip are sensory barbels
Admire the extraordinary texture of the the skin; and the tiny evil eye. Double-click on the image and you will see that the skin is in fact tessellated, made up of a mosaic of tiny squares and near-squares.
This one is a baby nurse shark
PARENT LEADING
SO, THEY ARE SHARKS – ARE THESE GUYS DANGEROUS?
Not really, no. They aren’t looking to pick a fight; and they are not as territorially aggressive as the ‘bitey’ sharks are (or can be). These slow-moving bottom-dwellers are generally harmless to humans. However, they can be huge—up to 4 metres —and have very strong jaws filled with thousands of tiny, serrated teeth. They will bite defensively if stepped on or bothered by divers who assume they’re docile. [As I said in an earlier post, “there are recorded instances of injuries caused to divers who have tried to pull nurse sharks by the tail”. And serve them right, I say. Treat them with respect! And indeed patience…]
Credits: field photos by Melinda Riger, Grand Bahama Scuba; Wiki OS for the 4 mouth images
I so very much enjoyed this swim, RH, getting so close to these beautiful nurse sharks. I did double-click on the tessellated skin and was awed. I appreciated this series of photos for getting the big picture, from the bottom-dwelling moments to the up-close. And the outstanding photos from Melinda Riger have always dazzled me. Thanks and cheers to you.
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Hi Jet, how lovely to hear from you! I intermittently get those enjoyable posts of yours, always a pleasure. With the ‘proper’ sharks, I am sometimes amazed by the human reactions to them that get reported. As we all ought to agree, it is the humans who ‘infest’ shark territory, not vice versa…
All the very best, Keith
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